Is there a difference between the Holy Spirit and the Holy Ghost?

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Mar 23, 2016
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I've read that the Greek word Pneuma is used more referring the soul than spirit, seems old English and Latin meanings were use for the translation.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit [pneuma] and soul [psychē] and body [sōma] be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.


The word pneuma is used 385 times as follows:

133 – Capital "S" Spirit
153 – lower case "s" spirit
1 – spiritual
2 – ghost
1 – life
1 – wind
1 – spirituality
4 – Holy Spirit
89 – Holy Ghost
385


 
L

LPT

Guest
Regular Koine Greek or Judean Koine Greek? There is a difference. The new Testament was written in Judean Koine Greek. It has Hebrew modifying the language used. Today Yiddish is Judean German. They modify English the same way but we think about that as theological concepts. English is a language that has many different types of rules coming from the original Celtic with Latin added by the Romans, German added by the Saxons, and last French added by the Angles. Anglo-Saxon added on top of Roman Celtic. Adding in the religious Hebrew concepts is just part of the language today. We have the hardest language to learn. Rules, exceptions to the rules, exceptions to the exceptions ad nauseam. Other languages only have the rules. We ended up with rules from several languages. I have 4 cacti in my front yard. Why is cacti the plural of cactus? A few years ago the plural was cactae with the ae pronounced I. That comes from Latin masculine single and plural. I took Latin in HS. A Latin rule.
I can undstand that the English language is probably one of the last languages to be formed. But I can't help but wonder when things were translated into Greek or what ever, can they be trusted.

does anything with Greek religion have influence, what I mean is I see a lot of folks say the Greek language is the language to go by when understanding bible meanings but the Greek society that language comes from use to believed in multible gods and the like, how much can we trust meanings that come from a language that didn't really support one God long ago. modern times probably isn't a issue I guess but I'm not sure but 2000 yrs ago I don't know did they really have a word or words for Holy Spirit/Holy Ghost sum 2000yrs ago.
 
Nov 23, 2013
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The message of the bible, with the exception of we are sinners and need a savior, is contained in the spirit of the words and not in the letter. Ex. The KJV translators translated Pneuma as Holy Spirit 7 times (representing completeness) but its translated Holy Ghost 90 times (representing fruit bearing). This was done purposely to tie those numbers to the words. Holy Ghost and Holy Spirit are the same.
 

Endoscopy

Senior Member
Oct 13, 2017
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I can undstand that the English language is probably one of the last languages to be formed. But I can't help but wonder when things were translated into Greek or what ever, can they be trusted.

does anything with Greek religion have influence, what I mean is I see a lot of folks say the Greek language is the language to go by when understanding bible meanings but the Greek society that language comes from use to believed in multible gods and the like, how much can we trust meanings that come from a language that didn't really support one God long ago. modern times probably isn't a issue I guess but I'm not sure but 2000 yrs ago I don't know did they really have a word or words for Holy Spirit/Holy Ghost sum 2000yrs ago.
The old Testament was written in Hebrew and Aramaic a close cousin to Hebrew. The new Testament was written in Judean Koine Greek. The fact that it is Judean means the Greek gods were left out! We have a complete Greek new Testament dated to 400 from Babylon. There are fragments dating earlier. The Bible has way more ancient manuscripts and fragments than any other book written in antiquity. Thousands compared to a hundred or so if that many of other works.
 
L

LPT

Guest
The old Testament was written in Hebrew and Aramaic a close cousin to Hebrew. The new Testament was written in Judean Koine Greek. The fact that it is Judean means the Greek gods were left out! We have a complete Greek new Testament dated to 400 from Babylon. There are fragments dating earlier. The Bible has way more ancient manuscripts and fragments than any other book written in antiquity. Thousands compared to a hundred or so if that many of other works.
speaking about the OT I read this about the LXX,, I had no idea this happened way back when Just found it interesting and wonder why it was done.

In the most ancient copies of the Bible which contain the Septuagint version of the Old Testament, the Book of Daniel is not the original Septuagint version, but instead is a copy of Theodotion's translation from the Hebrew, which more closely resembles the Masoretic text. The Septuagint version was discarded in favor of Theodotion's version in the 2nd to 3rd centuries CE. In Greek-speaking areas, this happened near the end of the 2nd century, and in Latin-speaking areas (at least in North Africa), it occurred in the middle of the 3rd century. History does not record the reason for this, and St. Jerome reports, in the preface to the Vulgate version of Daniel, This thing 'just' happened. Several Old Greek texts of the Book of Daniel have been rediscovered recently and work is ongoing in reconstructing the original form of the book.
 
L

LPT

Guest
The world of languages is quite the obstacle coarse indeed, lol
 
Nov 23, 2013
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The world of languages is quite the obstacle coarse indeed, lol
That's why the bible says "If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret."

Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic and God should interpret the meaning. :)
 
L

LPT

Guest
That's why the bible says "If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret."

Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic and God should interpret the meaning. :)
how about swahili indeed you are correct, :)

Yesu Anapenda
 

p_rehbein

Senior Member
Sep 4, 2013
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how about the answer to your question is still NO...........but, shoot, keep trying to figure dat out
 
L

LPT

Guest
It is quite the perplexing question, who led who in this verse below, are they really different.

Luke 4:1 — "And Jesus, being full of the Holy Ghost ... was led by the spirit into the wilderness."

Was the Holy Spirit that led into the wilderness or the Holy Ghost.
 
Nov 23, 2013
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how about swahili indeed you are correct, :)

Yesu Anapenda
God can translate those three languages into any language including Swahili lol. Acts 2 the Holy Spirit gave them utterance (words) to tell of the wonderful works of God (the gospel) in all languages.
 
L

LPT

Guest
It is quite the perplexing question, who led who in this verse below, are they really different.

Luke 4:1 — "And Jesus, being full of the Holy Ghost ... was led by the spirit into the wilderness."

Was the Holy Spirit that led into the wilderness or the Holy Ghost.
Probably a simple word play that didn't quite give the meaning to the spirit within doing the leading.
 
Nov 23, 2013
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Probably a simple word play that didn't quite give the meaning to the spirit within doing the leading.
I think it means the spirit he was full of was the spirit leading him into the wilderness.
 
L

LPT

Guest
I think it means the spirit he was full of was the spirit leading him into the wilderness.
I think your on to something, I don't think another spirit led Jesus and the Holy Ghost into the wilderness but that the Holy Ghost is being referred to as a spirit thus Holy Spirit.
 
Nov 23, 2013
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I think your on to something, I don't think another spirit led Jesus and the Holy Ghost into the wilderness but that the Holy Ghost is being referred to as a spirit thus Holy Spirit.
I think that verse answer the question "Is there a difference between the Holy Spirit and the Holy Ghost". I love it when the bible defines itself... takes all of our misconceptions out of the equation.
 
L

LPT

Guest
I think that verse answer the question "Is there a difference between the Holy Spirit and the Holy Ghost". I love it when the bible defines itself... takes all of our misconceptions out of the equation.
I think it said quite well also, pretty straight forward. though probably someone will always say it isn't straight forward hehe..
 

Zmouth

Senior Member
Nov 21, 2012
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The Greek words used for Holy Spirit and Holy Ghost are the same words ... Hagios Pneuma.
Well, if you are going to define the Spirit as pneuma [G4154] which in the Greek means; a current of air, i.e. breath (blast) or a breeze; then you are equating God to the wind. In fact the analogy of the Spirit and the wind is used in John 3:8.

The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

Of course, you can't hear the wind but rather what you hear is the sound of moving air molecules since the wind is the force that produces the motion of the air molecules that formed the firmament. But of course, the wind is produced from the visible light emitted from the celestial body we call the Sun.

So if God is pnuema, seeing that God is a Spirit according to John 4:24, and if the Spirit is pnuema then the Spirit of God is the pnuema of pnuema right?

What is the difference between Hagios Pneuma [Holy Spirit] and Hagios Pneuma [Holy Ghost]?
Faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Son of God (Holy Ghost; the Spirit of truth)
 

Endoscopy

Senior Member
Oct 13, 2017
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That's why the bible says "If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret."

Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic and God should interpret the meaning. :)
If you want to get a headache read about the Greek verb tenses. Translating them to English is difficult.
 
Nov 23, 2013
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If you want to get a headache read about the Greek verb tenses. Translating them to English is difficult.
Agree. Best to leave translating Gods word to God. He knows exactly the right words to use.